Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Now that the english-language version of CLIP STUDIO PAINT has an Assets/Launcher app, the Japanese version has actual Cloud storage, and the format for 3D Materials has changed it was time for another Big Blog Update! Here's the rundown:Introduction to Clip Studio SuiteMore like a "re-introduction." This is based off what was originally written on the Unofficial Translations page but has been rewritten and moved to it's own page.Unofficial English TranslationsI have completely new english translations for both the “legacy” and 1.6.3 versions of the Japanese suite, plus I wrote patch scripts for both Windows and Mac. Should be a lot less painful process now, but still requires installing specific versions.Installing, Sharing and Synching MaterialsAgain, this used to be at the bottom of the translations page, but it's grown into a enough info to be on its own page now. It is now possible in version 1.6.3 to share installed materials between different language versions and, with a cloud storage drive, between installations on different computers.Assets/Launcher app (Japanese version)It used to be mostly an app launcher front-end and storefront. Now it does a lot of other stuff so I dive deep.Assets/Launcher app (English version)This is new territory for users of the english-language version. Unfortunately it isn't as fully featured or functional as the Japanese one, but it's a start. We in the West *finally* have legit access to the Clip Assets Site!Assets/Launcher app (Legacy version)The good ol' Legacy version ain't what it used to be. Lots of functionality has been purposely hobbled in favor of the new version.Old vs. New 3D Model FormatsSince version 1.6.0 the native format for 3D materials has changed, as have the apps you use to create them. COORDINATE is (kind of) done. MODELER is the future, but it's not free - except when it is. If you're making 3D materials for PAINT you're going to want to look this over.

Monday, May 29, 2017

Those of us outside of Japan still don’t have the other parts of the Clip Studio Suite that would allow us to MAKE most of the new materials. However, the english-language Clip Studio Assets app won’t even let you upload and share the things we can easily make like custom brushes, patterns, or 2D backgrounds, etc. That’s because they removed those functions from the the Clip Studio Launcher/Assets app. So let's take a look at the original Japanese version!

NOTE: The following screenshots are of the Japanese app with the Unofficial English Translations applied to the user interface. However, any content which is loaded from the Celsys servers is still shown in Japanese.

This post is specifically about the Clip Studio Assets/Launcher "Legacy" app. It is the version of the Launcher used with the pre-1.5 versions of the Japanese Clip Studio Suite apps. There is no english-language version. Version 1.1.7 is the final release of the Legacy Launcher. You can't download and install the Launcher by itself, but you can get it by downloading and installing the Legacy version of ACTION, which also includes the last version of COORDINATE that is compatible with the legacy apps.For details on the current version of the Launcher see my other posts about the the Japanese 1.6.x Launcher or the English 1.6.x Launcher. If you never installed any of the Clip Studio Suite apps prior to version 1.5 then this post isn't for you. If you DO have the older versions of the apps installed (and you can have them installed alongside the newer ones and other language installations) then let's dig in!

NOTE: The following screenshots are of the Japanese app with the Unofficial English Translations applied to the user interface. However, any content which is loaded from the Celsys servers is still shown in Japanese.

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

The release of the English language 1.6.2 version of Clip Studio Paint FINALLY added a built-in method for those of us outside of Japan to download some of those over 10,000 assets they have on the Japanese “Clip Site.” It also meant some changes to the user interface, chief of which is the entirely separate "Clip Studio" asset download app, which is what I’ll go over in this post.NOTE: The actual name of this app is simply "Clip Studio" but I usually refer to it as the "Launcher" or CSL (Clip Studio Launcher) because in the Japanese version it is a front-end for running the entire suite. Also because CSL won't cause any confusion with another app in the suite, CSA (Clip Studio Action).

Getting Started

This is new for us Westerners, but will look familiar to anyone who has been using the unofficial language hack versions of the suite. Unfortunately we’re getting a feature-limited version of it. Here’s what you see when you fire it up: